Kingspan Insulation launches new app for energy simulations

Leading insulation innovator, Kingspan Insulation has launched a new app for iPads and iPhones to simulate energy savings delivered by its products.

The KoolCheck app allows users to select their city, building type and insulation products to see how they can reduce energy footprints, carbon emissions and operational costs.

Kingspan Insulation Marketing Manager, Mr Karim Muri explains that the app illustrates the impact of its high performance insulation products on the built environment. While most people understand broadly that insulation products help reduce energy use, the KoolCheck app translates this broad understanding into tangible numbers.

A comprehensive energy modelling study conducted by Kingspan Insulation through a global engineering consulting firm revealed significant savings in the areas of energy costs, CO2 emissions, peak cooling and heating reductions, and capital cost savings when using their unique insulation solutions to upgrade an existing building.

Existing buildings, which make up about 98% of total Australian building stock, are some of the worst offenders when it comes to energy inefficiency caused mostly by poor thermal performance of the building fabric. With energy use in buildings accounting for up to 30% of carbon emissions, simple improvements in insulation levels can make a big difference, according to Mr Muri.

A typical office building in Canberra can for instance, reduce its carbon emissions by over 37 tonnes annually, meaning thousands in operational cost savings by simply upgrading to Kingspan Insulation’s products. These energy savings can contribute to a better National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) energy star rating, making a commercial building more attractive to potential tenants and buyers as well as providing better returns for building owners.

The Government’s CBD (Commercial Building Disclosure) program requires the NABERS energy star rating of an office building to be disclosed when being leased or sold, which should motivate building owners to consider improving their NABERS rating.